Device for connecting successive strips of film for processing

ABSTRACT

A device for facilitating the attaching of one strip of photographic film onto the end of another for convenience in enabling separate strips of film to be processed, printed duplicated, etc. as a single continuing strip; the operation of the device causing overlapping ends of a pair of consecutive strips of film positioned thereon to be trimmed and connected together by a short length of pressure tape which is automatically cut off by the device from a tape supply roll and applied against the trimmed ends of the strips.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Donald W. Byers;

Chester H. Petry, Jr., both of Portland, Oreg. [211 App]. No. 696,804 [22] Filed Jan. 10, 1968 [45] Patented Sept. 21, 1971 [54] DEVICE FOR CONNECTING SUCCESSIVE STRIPS 0F FILM FOR PROCESSING 3 Claims, 15 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 156/506, 156/508, 156/509. 156/510 [51] Int. Cl G03d 15/04 [50] Field of Search 156/302-510, 156, 159; 242/58.l-58.4, 59

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,672,542 6/1928 Rohrdanz 156/508 2,231,383 2/1941 Goldberg 156/507 2,987,108 6/1961 Kilmartin 156/159 3,162,565 12/1964 Milleret a1. 156/159 3,434,907 3/1969 Philippi et al 156/505 Primary ExaminerBenjamin A. Borchelt Assistant Examiner-G. E. Montone A!t0meyL. R. Geisler ABSTRACT: A device for facilitating the attaching of one strip of photographic film onto the end of another for convenience in enabling separate strips of film to be processed, printed duplicated, etc. as a single continuing strip; the operation of the device causing overlapping ends of a pair of consecutive strips of film positioned thereon to be trimmed and connected together by a short length of pressure tape which is automatically cut off by the device from a tape supply roll and applied against the trimmed ends of the strips.

PATENTED SEPZI ml SHEET 1 BF 5 FIG.

I N VENTORS. DONALD W. BYE-IRS CHESTER H. PETRY J ATTORNEY FIG.

PAIENTED sm 1 1971 sum 2 OF 5 I N VENTORS.

DONALD W. BYERS CHESTER H. PETRY, JR

ATTORNEY PATENTED SEPZI [9n 3507575 SHEET 3 0F 5 INVENTORS.

DONALD W BYERS CHESTER H. PETRY, JR

ATTORNEY FIG. 6

AAA

INVENTORS. DONALD W. BYERS CHESTER H. PETRY, JR.

ATTORNEY sum 5 0F 5 FIG.

FiG. 9

INVENTORS. DONALD W BYERS CHESTER H. PETRY, JR.

ATTORNEY DEVICE FOR CONNECTING SUCCESSIVE STRIPS OF FILM FOR PROCESSING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the use of modern equipment adapted for processing photographic film on a commercial scale, when the film to be processed comprises a number of individual strips of film of relatively short lengths, it has become customary practice to attach the strips of film temporarily together consecutively so that a number of such strips can be rolled up on a collecting reel and then processed in one continuing operation. Such procedure makes possible a considerable saving in time and labor.

The connecting of strips of film together to facilitate processing is quite different from performing permanent splicing in a continuous strip of film. In the latter case the splicing, which is a more complicated operation, should be done in such a manner that it will remain permanent for the entire life of the film, including liquid immersion if desired. When strips are temporarily connected for processing purposes only they must be capable of again being easily separated at the conclusion of the processing. Devices which have been developed for splicing of continuous film, a number of patents on which are to be found in the prior art, are in general not suited for use in connecting separate strips of film together temporarily merely for processing.

However, the joining of filmstrips together consecutively end to end for continuous processing, when done entirely manually, takes considerable time and care. The pair of ends to be connected not only generally require some trimming, but also must be so joined that the perforations along the edge of the second strip will constitute exact continuation of those .in the preceding strip; otherwise the resulting composite length of film will encounter difficulty in the mechanism by which it is handled and controlled during the processing. Not only must the perforations in the second strip be in proper sequence with those of the previous strip but the perforations also must be continuous throughout the connected end areas of the films. Then, when the two adjacent ends are properly prepared and positioned, a short length of adhesive tape must be cut off and applied to the ends to attach them together.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide an approved, practical and simple device through which the trimming of the two ends of film sections to be joined and the connecting of these two together temporarily with a piece of pressure tape, with the connected filmstrips arranged so that their continuous end perforations will be in proper sequence, can be accomplished easily and quickly.

The device of the present invention includes a pair of platens normally extending in alignment in the same horizontal plane, having guideways for the film end portions to be connected, and having a .pair of transversely extending cooperating film-slicing elements on their inner adjacent ends respectively. One of these platens, which is stationarily mounted on the supporting base of the device, has means for holding the rear end portion of the strip of film to which another filmstrip is to be temporarily attached. The other platen, which is hingedly mounted to swing up and down with respect to the stationary platen, hasmeans for holding the forward end portion of the filmstrip which is to be attached to the preceding strip. When the two filmstrips are positioned so that the respective ends, which are to be trimmed and connected, overlap, the moving of the hingedly mounted platen up and down causes the two ends to be trimmed.

The device also includes a hingedly mounted presser head which is normally in raised vertical position, but which is adapted to be engaged by the movable platen, when the latter is manually swung up to fully raised position, and when the presser head is so engaged it is temporarily moved down to horizontal position by the return of the movable platen to normal horizontal position.

A roll of pressure tape is mounted in the upper portion of the device. Means are provided for feeding a short length of the pressure tape under a cutter knife, together with means for operating the cutter knife and for positioning the cutoff piece of tape on the presser head with each operation of the device, in such manner that upon return of the presser head to raised normal position a piece of pressure tape will be positioned against the face of the presser head. The raising of the hinged platen into engagement with the presser head causes part of the piece of pressure tape to be pressed against the end of the filmstrip on the raised platen. Finally, the return of the raised platen down to normal position, bringing the presser head down with it, results in the unattached part of the piece of pressure tape being pressed down on the end of the filmstrip on the stationary platen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings: FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the device showing the device in normal ending position with the filmstrips, whichwere connected, indicated by broken lines and shown set in place on the device after having the ends trimmed and joined;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the device taken on the line indicated at 2--2 in FIG. 1, drawn to a larger scale, with portion broken away and shown in secton, and with the movable supporting platen shown in full lines in ending position and in broken lines in temporarily lowered starting position;

FIG. 3 is a transverse secton on line 3-3 of FIG. 1, drawn to the same scale as FIG. 2, with the movable supporting platen shown in maximum raised position;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary transverse section on line 4-4 of FIG. 1, drawn to the same scale as FIG. 2, but showing the movable platen swung back down to normal position from the position of FIG. 3, and with the presser head temporarily swung down with the movable platen;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section on line 5-5 of FIG. I drawn to a larger scale;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section on line 6-6 of FIG. I drawn to a larger scale;

FIG. 7A is a fragmentary section on line 7-7 of FIG. 6 showing a 126 mm. film being connected in the device;

FIG. 7B is a similar fragmentary section on line 77 of FIG. 6 showing mm. film being connected in the device;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section on line 88 of FIG. 1 drawn to a larger scale;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary section on line 9-9 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary section on line 10-10 of FIG. 1 drawn to a larger scale;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary section on line 11-11 of FIG. 3 drawn to a larger scale;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary section on line I212 of FIG. 2 illustrating the manner in which the adjacent ends of the sec tions of film are trimmed prior to being spliced together;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary section on line 13-13 of FIG. I drawn to a larger scale; and

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary elevation taken on line 14-44 of FIG. 1.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the device includes a suitable base 20 on which is mounted a stationary platen and a movable platen, the platens being indicated in general by the reference characters 21 and 22 respectively. The two platens have top surfaces formed with similar film guideways 21' and 22' respectively, the guideway '21 on the stationary platen 21 extending in a horizontal plane, and the guideway 22 on the movable platen 22 extending in the same horizontal plane and in alignment with the guideway 21' when the movable platen 22 is normal inoperative, or starting position. Both guideways are provided with guide bars of suitable material along each lateral edge for the purpose of holding the portions of film strip placed thereon flat along the guideway. Also, as presently explained, each guideway has means for engaging the strip of film placed thereon so as to hold the film temporarily against inadvertent longitudinal movement away from the inner end of the platen.

A reel 23 is mounted on the base on suitable supports beyond the stationary platen 21, and as the separate strips of film are connected consecutively, they are wound up manually on the reel 23, the connected filmstrips being drawn along the guideway 21' under an idler roller 24 and onto the reel. The end portion of the last strip of film attached to the connected strips of film on the reel (indicated by the broken lines X in FIG. 1) is held on the guideway 21' in order that the next strip of film (indicated by the broken lines Y in FIG. 1) may be joined thereto. The forward end of the strip Y to be attached is slid along the guideway 22 and the adjacent ends of the filmstrips X and Y (which generally require some trimming) are allowed to overlap to the extent to which trimming is desired.

A spring-actuated latch 25 (FIGS. 1 and 6) is mounted on a side guide bar of the guideway 21' of stationary platen 21 near the rear termination of the guideway, for the purpose of engaging a border perforation in the filmstrip X, when the filmstrip X is in position to have the next strip Y attached thereto, so as to hold the strip X against inadvertent longitudinal movement (toward the right as viewed in FIG. 6). Similarly a spring-actuated latch 26 is mounted on the corresponding side guide bar of the guideway 22' to engage a border perforation in the forward end of filmstrip Y which is to be attached to the filmstrip X. The latches 25 and 26 are so located that the border perforations in the filmstrip Y will be properly positioned with respect to the border perforations in the filmstrip X when the two strips are engaged by their respective latches. The latch 25 has a finger tab 25' to facilitate the releasing of the latch 25 when the strip Y has been attached to the strip X and thus when both strips are to be moved along (to the right as viewed in FIG. 6) upon manual rotation of the reel 23.

The platen 22 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is mounted on a horizontally extending hinge shaft 27, carried in suitable brackets 28 extending up from the base 20, and is so arranged that it may be swung up and down, so as to cause the guideway 22' to be moved either upwardly or downwardly from the normal position of registration with the guideway 21 of the stationary platen 21. The platen 22 is moved up and down manually be means of a handle 29 which extends forwardly from the platen 22. A leg 30 (FIG. 2) is hinged to the underside of the platen 22, and, when in normal position perpendicular to the bottom face of the platen 22, acts to support the platen 22 in normal horizontal position with the guideway 22 in line with the guideway 21' of the stationary platen 21. A spring 30' (as shown in FIG. 3) serves to hold the leg 30 in normal position but enables the leg to be swung inwardly manually against the force of the spring (thus clockwise as viewed in FIG. 2) when the platen 22 is to be moved downwardly temporarily to the broken line position indicated in FIG. 2.

The adjacent opposed ends of the guideways 21 and 22' of the platens 21 and 22 respectively carry transversely extending cooperating slicing bars 31 and 32 respectively (FIGS. 1, 6 and 12), which perform a scissorslike cutting action on the extending film ends when the platen 22 is moved up and down with respect to the stationary platen 21. The manner in which such slicing of the overlapping film ends takes place is illustrated in FIG. 12. When the end portions of the filmstrips X and Y are properly positioned in the guideways 21 and 22, with the platen 22 in temporarily lowered position as shown in FIG. 2 in broken lines, causing the overlapping ends of the filmstrips X and Y to be separated, then, upward movement of the platen 22 past the end of the platen 21, to the upper broken line position indicated in FIG. 12, causes the projecting end of the filmstrip Y to be trimmed. Finally, the downward movement of the platen 22 back to its registration with the platen 21 causes the projecting end of the filmstrip X to be cut off.

A pair of vertical supports 31 and 32 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4), rigidly mounted on the base 20, in transverse alignment spaced behind the platens, support a lower pair of parallel rods 33 33' and an upper pair of parallel rods 34 and 34 (shown best in FIG. 3). A block 35, slidably mounted on the lower pair of parallel rods 33 and 33 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) carries a vertical plate 36 (see also FIGS. 1 and 2). A block 43 is slidably mounted on the upper pair of parallel rods 34 and 34'. The block 35 is attached to the rear end of a coil spring 37 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) the forward end of which is attached to the base 20 beneath the stationary platen 21. The spring 37 is under tension at all times and exerts a constant force tending to move the block 35 (and with it the attached plate 36) forwardly from the rear position shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

On the side of the plate 36 opposite the block 35 is secured a member 38 having a forward cam edge (FIG. 2). This cam edge is engaged by a roller 39 mounted on an arm 40 secured to an extending rearwardly from the movable platen 22. As

apparent from FIG. 2, the arrangement is such that the plate 36 (and its supporting block 35) will be held in rear position by the engagement of the roller 39 with the cam edge of the member 38 when the platen 22 is in normal horizontal position, or in lowered position, but will be allowed to move forwardly under the pull of the spring 37 when the platen 22 is raised to upright position.

A reel 41 (FIG. 3), carrying pressure tape T, is mounted on the plate 36, spaced rearwardly from the block 35, and has suitable simple friction means, such as that shown in FIG. 11, to prevent the pressure tape being dispensed from the reel too freely. The pressure tape passes over a guide roller 42 and moves on the top horizontal surface of the block 43, passing under a control-dispensing finger 44 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 10). The finger 44 extends downwardly and is mounted for limited pivotal movement on the end of a bar 45. The bar 45 is pivotally mounted at 46 (FIG. 3) on the plate 36, and the opposite rear end of the bar 45 is engaged by a small coil spring 47 which is supported on a lug 48 secured on the plate 36. Thus the coil spring 47 causes the finger 44 to bear down slightly on the pressure tape beneath it. The bottom end of the finger 44 is formed with a thin nylon fin 44' (FIG. 10) which contacts the top adhesive face of the tape T. As will be apparent presently, and with reference to FIGS. 4 and 10, the arrangement is such that when the block 43 moves relatively to the right, as viewed in FIG. 4, the finger 44 will hold the tape against movement with the block, while, on the other hand, the finger 44 will offer only negligible resistance to the movement of the tape relatively to the left (as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 10) with respect to the finger 44.

The upper block 43 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) carries a vertical plate 49 which extends in the same vertical plane as the plate 36 which is carried by the lower block 35. The opposite side of the block 43 has an extending portion 43' (FIG. 5) which carries the pivotal mounting for a cutter knife assembly 50.

The cutter knife assembly 50, shown best in FIG. 5 (but also seen in FIG. I, 2, 3 and 4), has a hinge mounting at 50' on the top of the portion 43 of the block 43 and extends transversely across over the top of the block 43 and through an opening 51 in the plate 49. A finger 52, extending from the hinged end of the knife assembly is attached to a coil spring 53, and the bottom end of this coil spring is secured to a suitable lug on the portion 43. This spring, which is under slight tension at all times, normally holds the knife assembly in the raised inoperative position shown in FIG. 5, and when the knife assembly is in this position it enables the pressure tape T to pass along beneath the knife assembly. The knife assembly is equipped with a suitable removable knife blade 54, the cutting edge of which is received into a small transverse slot in the top of the block 43 when the knife assembly is swung down into tapecutting position against the force of its spring 53. The opposite end of the knife assembly, beyond the plate 49, has an extending finger 55, to be referred to later.

A presser head, indicated in general by the reference character 56 (shown best in FIGS. 2 and 4) is pivotally mounted on the hinge shaft 27 so as to be able to swing down from normal vertical position to the horizontal position of FIG. 4 when engaged by the platen 22 and the platen is returned to normal horizontal position. The presser head 56 carries a spring-actuated latch 65 which causes the presser head to become engaged by the platen 22 when the latter is swung up into vertical position as shown in FIG. 3. Also, the presser head is formed with a rectangular pressing face which is surfaced with a mat 57 of rubber or similar semiresilient material. The pressing face and its covering mat are of such size and are so positioned that they will bear down on the ends of the two film strips when the presser head is brought down into the position shown in FIG. 4.

A cord 58, or similar flexible element (FIG. 2) having one end connected to the finger 55 on the end of the cutter knife assembly, passes around a pulley 59 mounted on the plate 49 and is attached to one end of a coil spring 60, the other end of the coil spring being attached to the presser head 56. The moving of the presser head 56 from the normal position of FIG. 2 (and of FIG. 3) to the horizontal position of FIG. 4 exerts a force to pull the end of the knife assembly downwardly for performing a cutting operation on the pressure tape T, and also exerts a tendency to move the plate 49 (and the block 43) forwardly. However, a restraining bar 61 (FIGS. 1 and 2), secured to a mounting block 61 on the plate 36, prevents the knife assembly from being pulled down to cutting position until the spacing between the plates 36 and 49 is sufficient to enable the finger 55 to clear the end of the restraining bar 61.

In FIG. 2 the presser head 56, the plate 49 (and thus the block 43 on which the plate 49 is carried and the knife assembly 50 carried by the block 43), and the plate 36 (and thus the bar 61 carried by the plate 36) are all shown in their normal starting position. The plate 36 and its supporting block 35 are kept from being moved forwardly under the force of spring 37 by the engagement of the roller 39 on the rearwardly extending arm 40 of the platen 22, as previously mentioned. When the platen 22 is being swung up into vertical position for engagement with the presser head 56 the-plate 36 tends to move forwardly and to push the plate 49 also forwardly, but the latter is restrained by engagement with the presser head 56 and the raised platen 22, as shown in FIG. 3. The plate 49 carries a roller 62 which is engaged by the presser head 56.

When the platen 22, after being swung up and brought into engagement with the presser head 56, and thus into the position shown in FIG. 3, is moved back downwardly, taking the presser head with it, the plate 49 and block 43 are moved a short distance forwardly (to the right as viewed in FIG. 2 and to the left as viewed in FIG. 3) from the position in these figures to the position in FIG. 4. However, the plate 36 and block 35, after first following the forward movement of the plate 49, are then forced back in the opposite direction by the engagement of the roller 39 (FIG. 2) with the member 38 as the platen 22 approaches horizontal position. This increases the spacing between plate 49 (and block 43) and plate 36 (and block 35) until the finger 55 of the knife assembly clears the end of the restraining bar 61 (FIG. 2) and the knife cuts the end of the pressure tape on the block 43 (FIG. 4). Then, when the presser head 56 is manually released from the platen 22 and moved back into upright position, the knife assembly is immediately raised by the release of the pull on the spring 60 and cord 58, and subsequently the plate 49 (and its block 43) are pushed back towards the plate 36 (and its block 35) by the manual return of the presser head into vertical position, whereupon these members are again in their starting position of FIG. 2.

This return movement of the plate 49 and block 43 (to the right as viewed in FIG. 3) causes the tape T to be moved along relatively to the left with respect to the top surface of the block 43, since the finger 44 restrains the tape from movement to the right. This results in a short length of the tape passing beyond the cutting groove for the knife assembly in preparation for the next cutting of the tape. In the meantime, the previously cutoff end of the tape has been removed by the operation of a pickup finger 63, now to be explained.

A horizontal shaft 64 (FIGS. 1 and 8), rotatably mounted in a support 66 extending up from and integral with the base 20, carries a pickup finger 63 on one end and a small gearwheel 67 on the other end. The shape of the pickup finger 63 is shown best in FIGS. 3 and 4. The small gearwheel 67 meshes with a large gearwheel 68 supported on the shaft of the motor M (FIG. 1), which motor is mounted on a suitable support (not shown) integral with the base 20. The large gear 68 is indicated in broken lines in FIG. 3, and the rotation of the motor shaft, and thus the rotation imparted to the gear 68, is counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 3. Consequently the rotation of the small gear 67 and pickup finger 63 will normally be clockwise. However, due to a friction clutch, it is possible for these gears 67 and 68 to be turned oppositely against the force exerted by the motor.

The pickup finger 63 is so positioned and arranged that, under the rotation imparted to it by its gear, it will engage the near side portion (as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4) of either the forward end of the top of the block 43 or of the pressing pad 57 on the presser head 56, whichever happens to be in its path. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, with the presser head out of the path of the finger 63 and the forward end of the top edge of the block 43 extending into its path, (the block 43 being in the forward position), the pickup finger 63 engages the top of block 43, and, since a cutoff end T of the pressure tape T, after-the cutting action performed on the tape, will be resting on the forward end of the block 43, with the adhesive face of the tape uppermost, the finger 63 will contact the cutoff piece oftape T (see also FIG. 9).

When the block 43, by the return of the presser head 56, is moved rearwardly (tothe right as viewed in FIG. 4), the finger 63 with the piece of tape T attached thereto will slip off from the top of the block 43. However, when this occurs the presser head 56 will be back in normal vertical position (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) and the finger 63, carrying the piece of tape T, will rotate approximately 270 until contacting the pressing pad 57 on the presser head.

As will now be apparent, when the end of the film strip Y to be connected is in place on the platen 22, and the platen is raised from the broken line position of FIG. 2 and continues to the upright position of FIG. 3, (causing theend of the filmstrip Y to be trimmed, as previously explained with reference to FIG. 12), and brought into engagement with the presser head, one-half of the piece of tape T held against the pressing pad 57 on the presser head by the finger 63, will be pressed against the end of the filmstrip Y. Next, as the platen 22 with the presser head attached is swung down from the position of FIG. 3 to the position of FIG. 4, the finger 63 is first moved 'a short distance counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 3) against the rotational force imparted by the motor, until the finger 63 slips off from the pad 57 (and from the piece of tape on the pad and attached in part to the end of the filmstrip Y.) Then the released finger63 rotates in normal direction until it contacts the forward end of the block 43 (FIG. 4) and contacts another piece of tape which has been cut off during this time.

The lowering of the platen 22 trims the end of the other filmstrip X and causes the pressure head to press the unattached half of the piece of tape down on the end of the filmstrip X, thus completing the connecting of the two film ends together. The presser head is finally disconnected from the platen 22 and returned to normal vertical position in preparation for the repetition of the operation cycle.

When the ends of the filmstrips have been connected in this manner, with the platen 22 in normal horizontal alignment with the stationary platen 21, the latch 25 (FIGS. 1 and 6) on the guideway 21' is raised and the filmstrips are wound up on the reel 23, the end portion of the last strip being left in position on the guideway 21 if a further filmstrip is to be added.

The large gearwheel 68 is mounted on the shaft 69 of the motor M by suitable friction clutch means, such for example as that illustrated in FIG. 5, which absorbs some of the shock as the pickup finger 63 is suddenly stopped in its driven rotation by contact with the block 43 or with the presser head. In the clutch assembly shown in FIG. 5 a rotating friction clutch disc 70 carries a limiting setscrew 71 which engages a slightly wider notch in the motor shaft, enabling the friction disc 70 to have limited movement in an axial direction on the shaft. The friction disc is engaged by a coil spring 72 held under compression between a collar 73, adjustably secured on the motor shaft, and the friction disc 70.

It may happen that a border perforation will be missing in the end of the filmstrip to be attached. To remedy this the presser head is provided with a pin 74 (FIGS. 2 and 8) and the side of the guideway 22 is provided with a registering socket 75 (FIGS. 1, 6 and 7A) to enable the missing perforation to be punched out when the presser head engages the end of the film Y in the guideway 22.

The reel 23 for the rolled-up film is removably mounted by a locking lug 80 (H68. 1 and 14). For convenience in manually rotating the reel, a handle 81 is removably mounted on the sidewall 79 of the reel as illustrated in FIG. 14, the handle being provided with magnets 82 which contact the ends of the metal cross ribs of the reel.

To aid in arranging the adjacent film ends so that the picture frames on both will be in proper sequence, a pair of translucent windows 76 and 77 (FIGS. 1, l3 and 7B) are mounted in the guideways 2] and 22' respectively, and a crossbar is marked on each to indicate the proper relative position for a corresponding frame. A small light bulb is placed beneath each of these windows, one such light bulb being shown at '78 in FIG. 2.

We claim:

1. A device for connecting successive strips of photographic film for processing including a stationary first platen, a guideway on said platen for the terminal end section of a first strip of film, a second platen, a guideway on said second platen for the starting end section of a second strip of film, said first and said second platens normally extending in the same horizontal plane with their respective guideways longitudinally aligned and the inner ends of said guideways adjacent, said second platen hingedly mounted on the device so as to swing up and down with respect to said first platen, means on said guideways for holding the respective film end sections against inadvertent movement longitudinally away from the respective inner ends of said guideways; transverse cooperating slicing elements on the adjacent inner ends of said platens and guideways enabling a scissorslike cutting action to be performed on the film ends extending beyond said inner ends of said guideways when said second movable platen is moved up and down with respect to said first platen, a presser head hingedly mounted on said device so as to be swung down from normal raised substantially vertical position into the normal plane of said platens, a pressing face on said presser head so shaped and positioned that when said head is brought into contact with said platens said face will contact the inner end portions of both of said guideways, releasable engaging means causing said presser head to be engaged by said movable platen when the latter is swung up into upright position and to cause said presser head temporarily to be brought into contact with said stationary first platen when said movable platen is swung back down into normal position, a mounting on said device for a roll of pressure tape, tape dispensing and cutting means operated by the movement of said movable platen and presser head causing a short length of tape to be cut off from the tape roll with each operation of said dispensing and cutting means, transfer means for positioning the cutoff piece of tape on said pressing face of said presser head and for temporarily holding said cutoff piece of tape on said face while said presser head remains in normal raised position, whereupon, when said movable platen is raised into engagement with said presser head, part of said cutoff piece of tape will be pressed against the end of the filmstrip on said movable platen, and whereby the subsequent lowering of said presser head with said movable platen will cause the remaining part of said cutoff piece of tape to be pressed down on the end of the filmstrip on said stationary platen.

2. The device of claim 1 with a window in the bottom of each guideway near the inner end of the guideway and with light means below each window and marking on each window to facilitate the proper positioning of the consecutive strips of film with respect to each other for subsequent collective continuous processing.

3. The device of claim 1 with said pressing face of said presser head and the bottom of said guideway in said movable second platen provided with a punchout pin and a cooperating socket for punching an additional hole in the border portion of the filmstrip on said movable platen when this is necessary. 

2. The device of claim 1 with a window in the bottom of each guideway near the inner end of the guideway and with light means below each window and marking on each window to facilitate the proper positioning of the consecutive strips of film with respect to each other for subsequent collective continuous processing.
 3. The device of claim 1 with said pressing face of said presser head and the bottom of said guideway in said movable second platen provided with a punchout pin and a cooperating socket for punching an additional hole in the border portion of the filmstrip on said movable platen when this is necessary. 